The hauntingreturn of memories is at the core of Dreamchild, Potter's beguilingre-invention of his earlier Alice (see January 2). An eighty-year-oldVictorian Englishwoman arrives in New York to receive an honorary degreefrom Columbia University on the occasion of Lewis Carroll's centenary.This feisty, somewhat bewildered woman is none other than Alice LiddellHargreaves, the inspiration behind Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Outof this historic event, Potter has invented an imaginary journey back toa past never truly understood. Harried by all the attention of bustlingNew York, the elder Alice (Coral Browne in a stunning performance) isincreasingly drawn back to her memories of the Reverend Charles Dodgson(the true L. Carroll). These idylls are interspersed with dreamsequences and wonderful re-enactments of Wonderland with the Gryphon,the Mock Turtle, the March Hare and a particularly scornful Mad Hatter.As the past looms larger, Alice begins to understand the nature ofDodgson's attachment to her and how an unlikely love was transformedinto a lasting work of art.